Plastering splash apron



Dec. 13', 1966 J. VAN BAEL PLASTERING SPLASH APRON Filed Nov. 8, 1965INVENTOR JOSEPH wwv 6454 WW9 q United States Patent F 3,290,838PLASTERING SPLASH APRON Joseph Van Bael, 37426 Lakeshore Drive, MountClemens, Mich. Filed Nov. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 322,328 13 Claims. (Cl.52-173) The present invention relates to a means and method forprotecting finished plastered side walls of a room or the like duringthe construction or refinishing thereof and relates more particularly toa rotective splash apron which is adapted to protect the finished sidewall while the ceiling of the room is being plastered.

The present invention may be best understood in connection with theplastering of a relatively large room of a commercial building where itis usually common practice to plaster the side walls of the room priorto plastering the ceiling. Heretofore, prior to plastering the ceiling,the mechanic usually takes a large sheet of fabric material such ascanvas and covers the particular side wall as well as any of the metalframe members for doors, windows, etc., located or mounted therein.Various means have been used to hold the canvas in place. It should beappreciated that such a protective cover is desirable in order toprevent the splashed plaster from contacting the finished plastered.side wall, metal frame members of doors or windows, etc., to preventdeterioration of the metal, staining or marring of the side walls andthe like. It should be further appreciated that such discoloration canspread to other areas and detrimentally detract from the overallappearance of the finished side wall, prior to the application of paint,as well as detract from the appearance of the door and window frames.Often such discolorations cannot be removed from the metal parts. Theuse of protective tapes on metal frame members provide good protectionagainst staining by the plaster but is costly and is practical to useonly upon readily accessible flat surfaces.

Generally speaking, this invention relates to a novel means and. methodfor protecting finished side walls by providing a barrier or protectivecover over the side walls while the ceiling is being plastered. Themeans of this invention includes the use of flexible plastic sheetmaterial composed of compositions based on thermoplastic resins orpolymers and characterized by resistence to moisture, solvents, acidsand alkalies. The protective splash apron of the invention includes anangle shaped casement bead which forms part of the ceiling supportstructure. The casement head is arranged longitudinallyv along the sidewall adjacent the upper edge thereof and is adapted to have connected tothe horizontal flange thereof the metal lath for the ceiling supportstructure. An elongated relatively thin strip of flexible material suchas plastic has the upper marginal longitudinal edge thereofappropriately connected to the top surface of the horizontal flange ofthe casement bead. The vertical flange of the casement bead is laterallyspaced from the finished side wall a relatively short distance such thatthe remaining portion of the strip of flexible material hangs freely inthe space between the finished side wall and the vertical flange. Thelower marginal longitudinal edge of the strip of flexible materialterminates a relatively short distance below the bottom edge portion ofthe flange. A relatively large sheet of flexible material such asplastic is connected to the lower marginal edge of the strip of materialby means of an elongated adhesive element or other suitable fasteningmeans. The relatively large sheet of flexible material covers themajority of the remaining portion of the side wall below the easementbead.

The strip of flexible plastic material is very thin, as

3,290,838 Patented Dec. 13, 1966 an example .004" thick, and is providedwith a single row of perforations at a point directly and laterallyopposite the vertical flange of the casement bead in the space betweenthe vertical flange and the side wall. After the ceiling has beenplastered, the lower adhesive element is removed thereby removing therelatively large sheet of flexible material, which may be retained forsubsequent use, from the strip of material. The portion of the strip offlexible material below the perforations is removed from the portion ofthe strip of material above the perforations by applying a separatingforce thereto as will be subsequently explained. The lower portion ofthe strip of material is thrown away. The upper portion of the strip offlexible material which remains secured to the casement bead remains inplace, hidden from view due to the fact that it is impossible to viewthe lower edge of the remaining material through the relatively smallspace provided between the vertical flange and the side wall.

It is an object of the present invention to disclose and. provide anovel protective means for plastered side walls of a room of a house,commercial building, or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to disclose and provide ameans and method for protecting not only the finished plastered sidewalls but also the door frame members, window frame members, and thelike.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron for use during the plastering of the ceiling of a roomcomprising an elongated support member, an elongated strip of relativelyflexible material, and fastening means connecting the upper longitudinalmarginal edge portion of the strip of material to the support member,the remaining portion of the strip of flexible material hanging freelyfrom the sup port member, said strip of material being provided withlongitudinally arranged perforations on an intermediate portion thereofto permit the portion of the strip of flexible material below theperforations to be readily removed from the other portion of the stripof flexible material after the ceiling has been plastered.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron for use while plastering the ceiling of a room having afinished plastered side wall, said apron comprising an elongated angleshaped casement bead extending longitudinally along the side wall at theupper edge thereof and constituting part of the support structure forthe ceiling, said casement bead having a substantially verticallyarranged flange laterally spaced from the side wall a relatively shortdistance and a substantially horizontally arranged flange, an elongatedstrip of flexible material having a length approximately equal to thelength of the casement bead, said strip of material having the upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion thereof overlying the top surface ofthe horizontal flange and operatively connected thereto, with theremaining portion thereof hanging substantially freely in a verticalplane in the aforesaid space between the vertical flange and the sidewall, said remaining portion having the lower marginal longitudinal edgethereof spaced below the bottom edge portion of the vertical flange,fastening means for detachably securing a relatively large sheet offlexible material to the lower marginal longitudinal edge of the stripof material, said sheet substantially covering the remaining portion ofthe side wall below the casement bead, said strip being provided withlongitudinally arranged perforations at a point opposite an intermediateportion of the vertical flange to permit the portion of the strip ofmaterial below the perforations to be readily removed from the portionof the strip of flexible material above the perforations after theceiling has been plastered, said strip and sheet of flexible materialprotecting the side wall from splashed plaster while the ceiling isbeing plastered.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide aprotective splash apron of the aforementioned type wherein an elongatedadhesive element is connected on one longitudinal edge portion to theupper longitudinal marginal edge portion of the strip of flexiblematerial and is connected on the other longitudinal edge portion to thetop surface of the horizontal flange, with the adhesive elementextending substantially the entire length of the casement bead.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron of the forementioned type wherein metal lath is secured tothe longitudinal marginal edge portion of the horizontal flange andforms part of the ceiling support structure.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a protectivesplash apron of the aforementioned type wherein the strip and/or sheetof flexible material is made from relatively thin plastic material suchas polyethylene or the like.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a. protectivesplash apron of the aforementioned type wherein the fastening meansincludes an elongated adhesive element which extends substantially theentire length of the strip and sheet of flexible material.

It is thus another object of this invention to provide a simplified lowcost structure of the aforementioned type having certain advantagescontributing to efliciency, reliability and long life as well as ease ofmaintenance.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearlyshown.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an upper corner of a room,with certain parts broken away and in cross-section to illustratefeatures of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the upper cornerconstruction illustrated in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view in section taken substantially on line 33of FIGURE 1 and illustrating the manner of removing the flexiblematerial after the ceiling has been plastered.

In the example illustrating this invention in the drawing, an interiorcorner construction of a room of a commercial building is illustrated.The vertical side wall 12 is comprised of plaster or other cementitiousmaterial 13 which is applied to metal lath 14 or the like as isconventional in the art. The ceiling 15 is also of conventionalconstruction and includes the usual floor boards or equivalentsupporting members 16 to which is connected as is well known in the art,met-a1 lath 18 or the like.

The ceiling support structure includes not only the support members 16but also longitudinally extending metal casement beads 19. Each bead 19comprises a horizontal flange 20 and a vertical flange 22 having at thelower marginal edge thereof a relatively short inwardly turned flange24. The casement beads 19 extend along the side walls adjacent the upperedges thereof so as to usually form a continuous uninterrupted endlessbead. The casement beads carry the metal lath 18 as previouslydescribed. The horizontal flange 22 of each casement head 19 islaterally spaced from the front surface of the side wall 12 a relativelyshort distance as is indicated by the letter X in FIGURE 2. Thisdistance may be, as an example, approximately & In any event, the backsurface 26 of the vertical flange 22 is never located tightly againstthe finished side wall 12 for a reason which will subsequently appear.The size of the space X has been exaggerated in the drawing for purposesof illustration.

The edges of the metal lath 18 are appropriately secured to thelongitudinal marginal edges of the horizontal flanges 20 by soldering orby other conventional fastening means as is well known in the art.

Prior to erecting each casement bead 19, an elongated strip of flexiblematerial 39 is connected thereto. Initially, the upper longitudinalmarginal edge portion 32 of the strip of flexible material 39 issuperimposed or placed over the flange 20. An elongated adhesive stripor band 33 such as masking tape is secured on one longitudinal edgeportion 34 to the upper edge portion 32 of the strip 30 while theremaining longitudinal portion 36 of the band 33 is secured to the metalflange 20 as best illustrated in FIGURE 1. The strip of flexiblematerial 30 and the adhesive band or tape 33 each has a lengthapproximately equal to the length of the metal casement bead 19.

As an example, the casement bead 19 may be of any length, with thehorizontal flange having a width of 1" while the vertical flange iswide. The strip of flexible material is 7" wide with approximately /2thereof superimposed over the horizontal flange. The band or tape 33 is1" wide or in other words equal in width to the flange 22.

The strip of flexible material 33 is provided with a singlelongitudinally extending row of perforations 40 which are located nearthe upper marginal longitudinal edge such that when the strip 30 is inplace as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the perforations 49 are located abovethe bottom edge portion of the flange 24. The perforations 4'0 thusdivide the strip 30 intoupper and lower portions 42 and 44 respectivelyand are located in the example previously stated approximately 1 fromthe upper longitudinal marginal edge of the strip of flexible ma= terial30.

The strip of flexible material 30 particularly adapted for the presentinvention is made from an impervious, lIl-' ert, non-reactive plasticmaterial. Such plastic material may be based upon the thermoplasticresins of polymers including selected compounds to provide a plasticbarrier or cover characterized by resistance to tearing, moisture,solvents, acids, and alkalies, by suflicient compliance and flexibilityto permit ready mounting as previously described, and by resistancetoaging. Such plastic material may include polyethylene and cnmpoundsthereof, vinyl polymers, and cellulose derivatives. A polyethylene strip30 has been used successfully and has a thickness of .004". Thus, whenthe easement head 19 is properly mounted the vertical portion of thestrip- 30 is substantially freely suspended and extends through therelatively narrow space X described previously and terminatesapproximately 6" below the bottom flange 24.

It will be further appreciated that the height of ceil ings varydepending on the particular building. ing that a 10' high ceiling isused it is necessary to pro vide an additional relatively large sheet offlexible material to cover the remaining 9 /2 of side wall.

The present invention includes a relatively large sheet of flexiblematerial 48 having a length approximately equal to the length of thecasement bead 19 or strip 30 and of a suflicient size to cover theremaining exposed area of the plastered side wall 12. The same type ofmaterial may be used for the sheet 48 as used for the strip 30. Incertain cases canvas could be used. It is important to remember howeverthat the strip 30 carries the weight of the sheet or cover 48.

It has been found, when polyethylene is used for both the strip 30 andcover 48 that a 1 wide elongated adhesive band or masking tape 50 may beused which extends the entire length of the strip 30. The oppositelongitudinal edge portion of the strip 30 and cover 48 are overlapped asillustrated in the drawing. It should be understood that otherappropriate fastening means may be utilized in place of the strip 50 tosuspend the cover 48 from the strip 30.

After the cover 48 has been suspended in the manner just described, themechanic can then proceed and plaster the ceiling 15. With the presentinvention any plaster or other cementitious material which is splashedwill collect on the splash apron without running or staining thefinished plastered side walls, windows, and doors and window frames.

When the plastering of the ceiling has been completed, or when thatportion of the ceiling adjacent the side wall is completed, the adhesivestrip 50 is removed so as to separate the cover 48 from the lowerportion 44 of the strip 30. The cover 48 may be cleaned and subsequentlyreused. A force is then applied to the lower portion 44 so as toseparate or break the perforations 40 and thereby remove the lowerportion 44 from the upper portion 42 of the strip 30. The lower portion44 may be discarded or used for other purposes.

The upper portion 42 of the strip 30 remains permanently in place, withthe lower edge thereof hidden from view due to the fact that the space Xis very small.

The drawing and the foregoing specification constitute a description ofthe improved plastering equipment in such full, clear, concise and exactterms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice theinvention, the scope of which is indicated by the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A protective splash apron for use during the plastering of theceiling of a room or the like comprising an elongated angle shapecasement bead having a horizontal flange and a vertical flange, a stripof flexible material having the upper longitudinal edge portionsuperimposed over the top surface of said horizontal flange, fasteningmeans for operatively connecting said upper longitudinal edge portion tosaid horizontal flange, said fastening means comprising an elongatedadhesive element secured along one longitudinal edge to the upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion of said strip of material and securedalong the other longitudinal edge to said casement head, the remainingportion of said strip of material hanging freely along the outer surfaceof said vertical flange and terminating a predetermined distance belowthe bottom edge portion of said vertical flange, a reusable sheet offlexible material, and means for detachably connecting said sheet to thelower marginal edge of said strip of material at a point below saidcasement bead, said means comprising an elongated strip of adhesivematerial secured along one longitudinal edge portion to the lowermarginal edge of said strip of material and secured along the otherlongitudinal edge portion to the upper portion of said sheet of flexiblematerial, said strip of material being provided with longitudinallyarranged perforations laterally and directly opposite an intermediateportion of said vertical flange to permit the portion of said strip ofmaterial below the perforations to be readily removed from the otherportion of said strip of material after the ceiling has been plastered.

2. A protective splash apron for use during the plastering of theceiling of a room or the like having a sidewall comprising an elongatedangle shape casement bead extending longitudinally along the side wallat the upper edge thereof, said bead having a horizontal flange spacedfrom the side wall a relatively short distance and defining a relativelynarrow clearance space therebetween and a vertical flange, a strip offlexible material having the upper longitudinal edge portionsuperimposed over the top surface of said horizontal flange, fasteningmeans for operatively connecting said upper longitudinal edge portion tosaid horizontal flange, the remaining portion of said strip of materialhanging freely from said head in a vertical plane through the aforesaidclearance space along the outer surface of said vertical flange andterminating a predetermined distance below the bottom edge portion ofsaid vertical flange, and a sheet of flexible material detachablyconnected to the lower marginal edge of said strip of material prior toplastering the celling, said strip 6 of material being provided withlongitudinally arranged perforations located in said clearance spacedirectly opposite an intermediate portion of said vertical flange topermit the portion of said strip of material below the perforations tobe readily removed from the other portion of said strip of materialafter the ceiling has been plastered, the bottom perforated edge of saidother portion of the strip of material being substantially hidden fromview in the aforesaid clearance space.

3. A protective splash apron for use while plastering the ceiling of aroom or the like having a finished plastered side wall, said aproncomprising an elongated angle shaped casement bead extendinglongitudinally along the side wall at the upper edge thereof andconstituting part of the support structure for the ceiling, saidcasement bead having a substantially vertically arranged flangelaterally spaced from the side wall a relatively short distance and asubstantially horizontally arranged flange, an elongated strip offlexible material having a length approximately equal to the length ofsaid casement head, said' strip of material having the upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion thereof overlying the top surface ofsaid horizontal flange and operatively connected thereto, with theremaining portion thereof hanging substantially freely in a verticalplane in the aforesaid space between said vertical flange and the sidewall, said remaining portion having the lower marginal longitudinal edgethereof spaced below the bottom edge portion of said vertical flange,fastening means for detachably securing a relatively large sheet offlexible material to said lower marginal longitudinal edge of saidstrip, said sheet substantially covering the remaining portion of theside wall below said casement bead, said strip being provided withlongitudinally arranged perforations at a point opposite an intermediateportion of said vertical flange to permit the portion of the strip ofmaterial below the perforations to be readily removed from the portionof said strip of material above the perforations after the ceiling hasbeen plastered, said strip and sheet of flexible material protecting theside wall from splashed plaster while the ceiling is being plastered.

4. The protective splash apron defined in claim 3 wherein said upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion of said strip of flexible material isconnected to the top surface of said horizontal flange by means of anelongated adhesive element which extends substantially the entire lengthof said casement head.

5. The protective splash apron defined in claim 3 wherein metal lath issecured to the longitudinal marginal edge portion of said horizontalflange.

6. The protective splash apron defined in claim 3 wherein said strip offlexible material is relatively thin plastic material.

7. The protective splash apron defined in claim 6 wherein said plasticmaterial is polyethylene.

8. The protective splash apron defined in claim 3 wherein said fasteningmeans includes an elongated adhesive element which extends substantiallythe entire length of said strip and sheet of flexible material.

9. A protective splash apron for use while plastering the ceiling of aroom having a finished side -wall, said apron comprising an elongatedcasement bead extending longitudinally along the side wall at the upperedge thereof, said casement bead having a substantially horizontallyarranged surface and a substantially vertically arranged surfacelaterally spaced from the side wall a relatively short distance anddefining a relatively narrow clearance space therebetween, an elongatedstrip of flexible material having a length approximately equal to thelength of said casement bead, said strip of material having the upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion thereof overlying said horizontalsurface and operatively connected thereto, with the remaining portion ofsaid strip of material hanging substantially freely from said casementbead in a vertical plane through the aforesaid clearance space betweensaid vertical surface and the side wall, said remaining portion of saidstrip of material having the lower margin longitudinal edge thereofspaced below the bottom edge portion of said vertical surface, fasteningmeans for detachably securing a relatively large sheet of flexiblematerial to said lower marginal longitudinal edge of said strip, saidsheet substantially covering the remaining portion of the side wallbelow said casement bead, said strip being provided with longitudinallyarranged perforations located in said clearance space directly oppositean intermediate portion of said vertical surface to permit the portionof the strip of material below the perforations to be readily removedfrom the portion of said strip of material above the perforations afterthe ceiling has been plastered, said strip and sheet of flexiblematerial protecting the side wall from splashed plaster while theceiling is being plastered.

10. The protective splash apron defined in claim 9 wherein saidfastening means includes an elongated adhesive element which extendssubstantially the entire length of said strip and sheet of flexiblematerial.

11. A protective splash apron for use while plastering the ceiling of aroom having a finished side wall, said apron comprising an elongatedcasement bead extending longitudinally along the side wall at the upperedge thereof, said casement bead having a substantially horizontallyarranged surface and a substantially vertically arranged surfacelaterally spaced from the side wall a relatively short distance anddefining a relatively narrow clearance space therebetween, flexiblematerial means for substantially covering the side wall, said flexiblematerial means having a length substantially equal to the length of saidcasement bead, said flexible material means having the upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion thereof overlying said horizontalsurface and operatively connected thereto, with the remaining portion ofsaid flexible material means hanging substantially freely from saidcasement head in a vertical plane through the aforesaid clearance spacebetween said vertical surface and the side wall to substantially coverthe side wall, said flexible material means being divided into an upperportion and a lower portion, with the demarkation between said upper andlower portions defined by an elongated roll of longitudinally arrangedperforations located in said clearance space directly opposite anintermediate portion of said vertical surface to permit the lowerportion of the flexible material means below the perforations to bereadily removed from the upper portion of said flexible material meansafter the ceiling has been plastered, said flexible material meansprotecting the side wall from splashed plaster while the ceiling isbeing plastered, the bottom perforated edge of said upper portion uponremoval of the lower portion from said flexible material means beingsubstantially hidden from view in the aforesaid clearance space.

12. The protective splash apron defined in claim 11 wherein said upperlongitudinal marginal edge portion is connected to said horizontalsurface by means for an elongated adhesive element which extendssubstantially the entire length of said casement bead.

13. The protective splash apron defined in claim 11 wherein saidflexible material means is made from relatively thin plastic material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,064,165 12/1936Johnson 400 2,631,825 3/1953 Zeitler 52-221 3,023,464 3/1962 Zerbe52-127 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

R. A. STENZEL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A PROTECTIVE SPLASH APRON FOR USE DURING THE PLASTERING OF THECEILING OF A ROOM OR THE LIKE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED ANGLE SHAPECASEMENT HEAD HAVING A HORIZONTAL FLANGE AND A VERTICAL FLANGE, A STRIPOF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING THE UPPER LONGITUDINAL EDGE PORTIONSUPERIMPOSED OVER THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID HORIZONTAL FLANGE, FASTENINGMEANS FOR OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID UPPER LONGITUDINAL EDGE PORTION TOSAID HORIZONTAL FLANGE, SAID FASTENING MEANS COMPRISING AN ELONGATEDADHESIVE ELEMENT SECURED ALONG ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE TO THE UPPERLONGITUDINAL MARGINAL EDGE PORTION OF SAID STRIP OF MATERIAL AND SECUREDALONG THE OTHER LONGITUDINAL EDGE TO SAID CASEMENT BEAD, THE REMAININGPORTION OF SAID STRIP OF MATERIAL HANGING FREELY ALONG THE OUTER SURFACEOF SAID VERTICAL FLANGE AND TERMINATING A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE BELOWTHE BOTTOM EDGE PORTION OF SAID VERTICAL FLANGE, A REUSABLE SHEET OFFLEXIBLE MATERIAL, AND MEANS FOR DETACHABLY CONNECTING SAID SHEET TO THELOWER MARGINAL EDGE OF SAID STRIP OF MATERIAL AT A POINT BELOW SAIDCASEMENT BEAD, SAID MEANS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED STRIP OF ADHESIVEMATERIAL SECURED ALONG ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE PORTION TO THE LOWERMARGINAL EDGE OF SAID STRIP OF MATERIAL AND SECURED ALONG THE OTHERLONGITUDINAL EDGE PORTION TO THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID SHEET OF FLEXIBLEMATERIAL, SAID STRIP OF MATERIAL BEING PROVIDED WITH LONGITUDINALLYARRANGED PERFORATIONS LATERALLY AND DIRECTLY OPPOSITE AN INTERMEDIATEPORTION OF SAID VERTICAL FLANGE TO PERMIT THE PORTION OF SAID STRIP OFMATERIAL BELOW THE PERFORATIONS TO BE READILY REMOVED FROM THE OTHERPORTION OF SAID STRIP OF MATERIAL AFTER THE CEILING HAS BEEN PLASTERED.